Tomato protest in parliament: Lawmakers clash
Lawmakers supporting former Bolivian President Evo Morales threw tomatoes at Vice President David Choquehuanca as he approached the parliamentary podium to deliver a speech.
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A tomato protest took place in the Bolivian parliament.
Lawmakers from the Movement for Socialism (MAS), who support former President Evo Morales, threw tomatoes at Vice President David Choquehuanca when he took the podium in parliament.
HE COULD NOT DELIVER HIS SPEECH, PARLIAMENT DESCENDED INTO CHAOS
Following this, Choquehuanca was forced to leave the parliament without being able to deliver his speech. During this time, a scuffle broke out between Morales supporters and ruling party lawmakers.
President Luis Arce stated in his remarks that the Morales supporters had carried out an act of "vandalism" in parliament.
Arce said, "(Referring to Morales) Evismo has once again shown our country with these actions that it has no will for dialogue. What happened today does not represent the sentiments of the Bolivian people."
STATEMENT FROM MORALES
Morales, in a statement on his social media account, accused Arce of treason, stating, "He promised to fix the economy but made it worse, he pledged to respect institutions but caused destruction, he promised transparency but engaged in corruption."
On the other hand, Morales announced that he had ended the hunger strike he started 6 days ago to persuade the government to engage in dialogue with them.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
In Bolivia, protesters who were demonstrating against the arrest warrant issued for former President Morales on October 11 had blocked highways for 19 days.
The demonstrators, who demanded the resignation of President Arce, had requested the lifting of the arrest warrant.
Morales was subjected to an armed attack on October 28 while traveling from the town of Villa Tunari to Lauca to visit a coca growers' radio station.
Stating that he was attacked while in motion and that his vehicle was fired upon at least 14 times, Morales announced that his driver had been wounded.
Blaming Bolivian President Arce for the attack, Morales had said, "Arce will be known as the worst president in history. Shooting at a former president is the final straw."
Following the incident, hundreds of police intervened against the protesters after Morales supporters blocked roads in the center of the country.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Morales, who is accused by the prosecutor's office of "rape, human trafficking, and smuggling," so that he could provide testimony.